EpDis: Legacies

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Refresher Links:
Lurker's Guide Main Page for Legacies
Lurker's Guide Extended Synopsis for Legacies

I thought "Legacies" was pretty good. It was a good introduction to Neroon, who is one of my favorite reoccuring characters. I think the story is a good early piece of the conflict between the Religious and Warrior castes of Minbari. It is interesting to me to note that the mother's side takes precidence in Minbari society. And we also get that great piece of early foreshadowing when Neroon says to Sinclair, "You talk like a Minbari, Commander."

We also get the results of an analysis of a Pak' mara's stomach contents!

A solid episode -- but it should have come after Babylon Squared, since Delenn uses the triluminary to freeze the guards. (Which, incidentally, tells us interesting things about the triluminary's powers, a side of things I've rarely seen examined.) Slight continuity error.

Also, how the heck did Sinclair manage to subdue Neroon in a fair fight? Marcus couldn't handle the guy!

Other than that, though, a great introduction to the Minbari warrior caste and all the problems it brings with it -- and in particular Neroon, who pretty much embodies his caste until near the very end.

Also, how the heck did Sinclair manage to subdue Neroon in a fair fight? Marcus couldn't handle the guy!

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Well, it has been stated that the fellow had been fasting, for something like a long while.

I also have a guess about Minbari night vision being next to nothing. For which the questions like "will you follow me into darkness". If one saw properly, one wouldn't need to ask.

IIRC, this is also the episode where the teenage girl is found to be a telepath and everyone fights over her, telling us a lot about how various races and factions deal with teeps and intensifying the conflict between Ivanova and Talia. Pretty clever plot device, but the girl was annoying.

Sinclair beat Neroon because it was a grappling street fight, not a skill-match like Marcus with the pike, so the two aren't comparable.

The next interaction the two would have take place in a comic I haven't read and a novel I have read (To Dream in the City of Sorrows). In these stories Neroon is framing or persecuting or attacking Sinclair and basically giving him a hard time, so if those are canon, the hint of goodwill and respect between them that we see in this ep doesn't last.

I like this ep. Good viewing indeed!

It is interesting to me to note that the mother's side takes precidence in Minbari society.

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Was that ever made clear? My memory is that the line was ambiguous as to whether the precidence referred to was mother-over-father or religous-over-warrior.

Well the exchange was (as best my memory serves):

NEROON: He is warrior caste by right of his father.

DELENN: And religious caste by right of his mother; you know which takes precidence.

Now, given the structure of that exchange, I don't see the point in bringing up his parents if the argument is over which of the castes someone in Minbari society belongs to over the other. I take the exchange to be that Neroon is trying to say that because Bremmer's father was warrior caste, that Bremmer himself should be treated in death as one of the warrior caste is, but Delenn interjects saying that because Bremmer's mother was religious caste, with one's mother's side taking precidence, that Bremmer's death should be conducted under religious caste guidelines.

...but it should have come after Babylon Squared, since Delenn uses the triluminary to freeze the guards.

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I remember thinking about this as I watched "Legacies" a few weeks ago and then continued on to finish watching out the rest of season one. I can't remember now, but there was something about "Legacies" that made me think that despite the use of the triluminary to stun the guards, that the story couldn't take place before "Babylon Squared," but for the life of me I can't remember what it was now. It was enough that as I watched I started thinking, well, maybe what they used to sun the guards wasn't actually a triluminary but another device that the Minbari just manufactured to look like a triluminary. I guess it's just a part of discontinuity that just can't be realigned to the rest of the story.

...but the girl was annoying.

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Yeah, was she ever!

Caste (generally speaking) comes from your parents' caste. What that exchange is still vague about is whether the rule for parents from different castes is:


If one parent is Religous that takes precidence of the other parent's Warrior status (which in turn would likely take precidence over Worker, given most of the attitudes that we see during the series).

Or

The mother's always takes precidence.


Either one has to do with parents and makes mentioning them relevent.

Well, I think according to the Lurker's Guide Legacies was originally intended to air after B Squared but for some reason they needed to move it -- I think so "A Voice in the Wilderness" would have a better airing time.

Well, I think according to the Lurker's Guide Legacies was originally intended to air after B Squared but for some reason they needed to move it -- I think so "A Voice in the Wilderness" would have a better airing time.

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I believe there were a few times when they altered the airing to accomodate the completion of the heavier FX laden episodes. A Voice in the Wilderness definitely qualifies. For Season 1, it was very heavy on FX.

There were also a few times in the first and second seasons when episodes got swapped purely because of PTEN's fairly odd pattern of when new episodes aired and when reruns aired. Either they wanted to start a run of new eps with a bang, or finish a run of new eps with something of teaser to bring people back later, or they didn't want a 2-parter split with 2 months between part 1 and part 2, or whatever.

I thought it was excellant with a good introduction to the character of Neroon and seeing Talia and Ivanova square off on the fate of a young teep .Makes this one of my favs and because a few glimpses of minbari funearls at least among the warrior caste.

I just checked to see who wrote this episode - I was pretty sure it wasn't JMS. Certainly Delenn has a darker side and is stronger and more dangerous than she appears, but she seems to be out of character in this story. Being so fanatic about an issue that she lets others take the blame and endangers the whole station, even to the point of risking a new war, just does not conform with her actions before and after this episode. The whole idea of serving others, which she preaches, does not go with letting others suffer for her actions. Of course we see enough characters in and around B5 who don't practice what they preach, but I don't see Delenn as one of them.

I too went "What the...?!" when the ship approached the station - the open gunports tradition of the Minbari should be known to EarthForces by now. Why the panicky surprise?

Though he picks a fight every time he has an opportunity, I like Neroon, who is introduced here. There's something about him that makes him believable as a member of the warrior caste and interesting as a character. Part of that is his sense of humour - subtle, but winning. We see so few humorous Minbari.

I also like the way Talia and Ivanova's relationship progresses. Though they squabble about the destiny of the young telepath, it seems more like two parents disagreeing about how to raise their kid - I don't get a feeling of animosity anymore. And like parents, they let their protegé go when she makes her own decision.

Estelyn said:

I too went "What the...?!" when the ship approached the station - the open gunports tradition of the Minbari should be known to EarthForces by now. Why the panicky surprise?

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Probably because the Minbari knew by now that it was a threatening gesture to the humans so it caught them off-guard. The Warrior Caste were making a deliberate decision here and probably don't normally approach the station this way, even if it is their tradition.

Yeah, the easiest fan-wank is that the Minbari haven't been coming in with open ports in the past ten years -- but Neroon was looking for a fight, or at the least was unwilling to bend tradition even an inch for mere humans.